Justin Trudeau decides his future

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced today that he will step down as Liberal Party leader, retaining his position as PM until his party decides on a new leader.

The decision comes after weeks of speculation, with many Liberal MPs demanding that he step down. On December 16th of last year, Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigned from Cabinet, citing Trudeau’s decision to replace her with another individual. The move prompted a number of calls for Trudeau’s resignation.

Two dozen individual MPs have called for Trudeau to step down, as have the Atlantic Canada, Quebec, and Ontario regional caucuses.

“Over the holidays I’ve had a chance to reflect… I intend to resign as Party Leader as Prime Minister,” Trudeau said in a press conference.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who had notably supported the Liberal government through various confidence votes last year, announced following Freeland’s resignation that he would vote to bring down the government in 2025. There is widespread expectation of an election coming early this year.

The Conservative Party has stated that they plan to table a motion of non-confidence that could be voted on as early as January 30th. CBC’s poll tracker currently indicates that the Conservatives would probably win a majority government in an election.

That plan, however, has been stymied by the decision to prorogue parliament until March 24, according to reporting by CBC. This will give the Liberal party time to select a new leader, but leaves Canada without a sitting parliament for almost three months.  

This political turmoil could also upend the Liberal Government’s proposal to increase the capital gains inclusion rate to 66 per cent for any gains over $250,000. That tax hike, announced in the spring, caused significant headaches for Canadian investors and advisors. It may be that with an election looming, those plans are scrapped by either a new Liberal leader or a newly elected government of another party.

Justin Trudeau’s reign as prime minister

October 19, 2015: Trudeau's Liberal Party wins a majority government in the federal election, ending nearly a decade of Conservative rule under Stephen Harper.

November 4, 2015: Trudeau is sworn in as the 23rd Prime Minister of Canada. His cabinet includes a historic gender balance (equal number of men and women), with the notable explanation: “Because it’s 2015.”

July 20, 2016: The Liberals launch the Canada Child Benefit to replace Harper’s Universal Child Care Benefit. The new benefit is not taxable and is dependent on family income.

Dec. 20, 2017: Canada’s ethics commissioner finds several violations related to several private-island vacations offered to Trudeau and his family by the Aga Khan.

Oct. 23, 2018: Trudeau introduces the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, which would impose a revenue-neutral price on carbon for provinces that don’t already have one.

Feb. 7, 2019: The Globe and Mail reports that Trudeau’s office pressured then-justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene in the corruption and fraud prosecution of Montreal engineering and construction giant SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. Both Wilson-Raybould and Treasury Board president Jane Philpott resign from cabinet in the aftermath of the story. Philpott expresses her lack of confidence over the government’s handling of the affair. Trudeau’s top aide, Gerald Butts, also resigns.

Sept. 18, 2019: In the middle of the general election, Time magazine reveals a past photo of Trudeau in brownface makeup. It was taken in 2001 during an Arabian Nights-themed gala at a private school where he was teaching at the time. Two more images quickly surface as well, including one of a high-school aged Trudeau in blackface performing “Day-O,” a Jamaican folk song, and a video of Trudeau at an unidentified event in the ’90s.

Oct. 21, 2019: Canadian voters knock Trudeau’s Liberals down to a minority government.

Dec. 11, 2019: After a long and arduous negotiation, Trudeau’s government signs a revised North American free-trade deal with the United States and Mexico. The Liberals count the successful negotiation with U.S. president Donald Trump’s administration as a major win.

March 11, 2020: The World Health Organization declares COVID-19 a global pandemic. Trudeau responds with a $1-billion package, including for surge capacity at provincial hospitals and extra surveillance at the National Microbiology Lab.

July 27, 2021: Despite early criticism that the federal government is slow to bring the available COVID-19 vaccines to Canada, Trudeau announces that the country has enough doses to vaccinate every eligible Canadian months ahead of schedule.

Sept. 20, 2021: Trudeau’s Liberals pick up another five seats in the federal election, but fail to win a majority.

Jan. 27, 2022: The first of the self-styled “Freedom Convoy” protesters roll into Ottawa with big rig trucks in a massive, three-week demonstration against COVID-19 mandates and Trudeau’s government. The crowds, trucks and police barriers gridlock the streets around Parliament Hill. Many of the protesters carry flags and signs with expletives directed at the prime minister.

March 22, 2022: Trudeau signs a supply-and-confidence deal with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. The political pact would see the NDP support the Liberals on key votes in the House of Commons in exchange for progress on priority policies like a national dental-care program and pharmacare legislation.

March 28, 2022: Canada signs child-care deals with all 13 provinces and territories to lower the cost of daycare, aiming for most families to pay no more than $10 a day.

Aug. 2, 2023: Trudeau announces he and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, his wife of 18 years, are separating. He would later say that he considered stepping down while he was experiencing difficulties in his marriage.

Dec. 13, 2023: The Liberals launch registration for a national dental-care program for low- and middle-income Canadians.

Sept. 4, 2024: Singh ends his supply-and-confidence deal with the Liberals, making the government a true minority at far greater risk of being defeated.

Oct. 23, 2024: The Liberal caucus meets, and Trudeau is confronted with a letter signed by at least two dozen MPs asking him to resign. He says he will not.

Dec. 16, 2024: Chrystia Freeland quits as finance minister and deputy prime minister, citing a dispute with Trudeau over fiscal prudence on the day she was to deliver a major economic update. She also says Trudeau had told her he was about to move her to a different cabinet post.

Jan. 6, 2025: Trudeau announces he has asked Gov. Gen. Mary Simon to prorogue Parliament until March 24, and says he will step down as party leader once the Liberals have chosen a new leader in a national leadership race.

Timeline as reported by The Canadian Press.